Thoughts from the Publisher

Nearly every homosapien on this planet is aware that today is “Black Friday.” For those non-shopper types who may be reading this, the definition of “Black Friday,” according to blackfridayandcybermonday.com, is “the day after Thanksgiving in the United States, [and] is historically one of the busiest retail shopping days of the year.” Many consider it the official beginning of the holiday season. Most retailers will open very early and usually provide massive discounts on their products. Although Black Friday is typically the busiest shopping day of the year in terms of customer traffic, it is not typically the day with the highest sales volume. That is usually either Christmas Eve or the last Saturday before Christmas.
Furthermore, information from the above named website declares that the origin of the name “Black Friday” historically comes from the retailers’ shift to profitability during the holiday season. Back in the day when accounting records were kept by hand, red ink indicated financial loss while black ink indicated profit, thus coining the popular fiscal terms of being “in the red,” (losing money) or “in the black” (profitable).
With all that said, I want to encourage all of you early shoppers to keep your holiday dollars close to home. Our local retailers have had a rough couple of years and need all the support they can get. Whether you are looking for restaurant gift cards, furniture, clothing, electronics, jewelry or other gifts for loved ones, please patronize your area merchants. Hate standing in line at the post office? Need stamps or a package mailed? Don’t forget our local UPS store in Bixby Knolls or the Mailbox Plus in Signal Hill. Those folks carry all the boxes and packing material you could possibly need and will get your packages where they need to go quicker than Santa can say “Ho Ho Ho.”
In most cases you will find small-business owners to be friendly and just gushing with customer service. Some even gift-wrap. They need your dollars, and you need their services. It’s a marriage made in Heaven, so pop the question already!